Mar

7

If we are going to have a civil and meaningful discussion and get to an “end-game” we all need to agree on a few basic principles.

First and Foremost: “You don’t get something for nothing”

Most of the voting bloc routinely votes in politicians that run on the platform of giving us something for nothing. We routinely vote out politicians that are straight with us on this accord.

Second: Fiscal Responsibility

It is high time to amend our constitution and require that the Federal Budget be balanced. Whether you are an individual, a company, or a government you can only spend more than you make for so long. At some point one has to pay their debts.

Third: Save For a Rainy Day

When times our good we seem to think they will last forever. When times are bad we get into this funk that time will always be bad. Fact: If you look at the history of this nation (or any nation for that matter) you will see that there are economic cycles. No matter what we seem to do, seem to legislate this is just a reality. Saving for a rainy day seems to be something our government has never tried. There are many of you that practice this principle and understand how it can save you during tough times.

Fourth: Where money is concerned their will always be greed and corruption.

I could make this list 100 miles long and not begin to cover all the incidences of this. The power of money and wealth can corrupt the most well meaning people.

If we have agreement on these four items we can begin the discussion

Mar

3

Dude, I am actually with you on reforming social security but you are a numbers guy so I want you to look at these numbers. I too am a numbers guy.

I am 52. Myself and my employer have collectively paid $186,000 into Social Security thus far. By the time I retire that figure will be roughly $398,000. At 3% interest on this money (which is a very modest rate of return) the Federal Government will owe me around $793,000.

With an average life expectancy of 78, I went out to the Social Security website and calculated what I would receive if I retired at 62.  The amount I would receive would be about $632,000 (these number assume I live to 78). If I waited until I was 67, the amount I would recieve would add up to $698,000. Both these numbers fall short to what I and my employers paid into the system.

First, I am all for reform. If your idea is not going to screw me over, or the millions of others in my relative age group I am all ears.

BUT, the facts are that I paid cold hard cash into this system for well over 30 years. Real dollars. Social Security may have been an entitlement program the first 20-30 years it was run, but, it is not an entitlement for people like me. We have paid into this system and we expect back what we paid in.

The fact that you and all the elected officials before you took the Social Security surpluses and spent them is not our problem it is yours. We expect you to fix it. I am all for ideas that keep this program solvent and sustainable. I am NOT willing to give up my real investment into this (mandatory) program because of your fiscal irresponsibility, or the fiscal irresponsibility of both parties over the years. No one else that has paid into this system is willing to give their capital investment up as well.

DO NOT MESS WITH OUR MONEY! Y’all can solve this problem without screwing us.

Mar

3

If the Tea Party movements agenda is to rid the Republican party of members who are for fiscal responsibility and for smaller government until they get into office I am 100% for them in this endeavor.

I am for this as at some point, in the hopefully near future, America needs to deal with its Federal debt. This is an issue we need to deal with soon. No gimmicks, no BS. Real deficit reduction.

If and when this day comes, and I see some real evidence that this is happening I may once again vote for that party. It is sad to be an independent and only really have one choice.

Clean house Tea Party. Clean house.

Mar

2

Congress agreed on “pay as you go.” Find and cut 10 billion dollars in items in the current budget and pass the bill.

Feb

28

Tax OTC Derivatives

February 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment

There are 683 trillion dollars in OTC Derivatives contracts. I am not kidding. I am not making this up (http://www.everydollarmatters.com/otc_derivatives.php). Thinking that we can regulate this nonsense is a joke. We do not need to regulate this we need to stop it altogther. Here is my solution. It is one that could also significantly reduce out national debt in the next few years.

Tax OTC Derivatives.

First, on all new derivative contracts we will require a 1/2% on the face value of the contract itself, payable at time of the contract signing.  1/2% may not seem like much but on a $100 million dollar contract (which is not a big contract in that world) that comes out to a cool $500,000. For every trillon dollars written, Uncle Sam collects 5 billion dollars.

Derivatives started in 1980 (roughly) and have grown from 0 to $683 trillion in contracts. Simple math puts us at about 23 trillion per year in new contracts (Actually the number is much higher that that), but we will use that as our figure. This gives us 100 billion each year in new tax revenues.

But we are not done.

For payouts on a derivatives contract Uncle Sam collects a flat 25% tax.

We could be out of debt very quickly. In all reality, what will happen is this taxation will force this sector to quickly regulate itself.

 

Feb

28

On Wednesday by a vote of 406-19 the House passed HR4626. This bill will end the Health Insurance Industry’s 64 year Federal Antitrust Exemption under the McCarren-Ferguson Act.

What is astounding is how little media attention this vote got! The House seems to be the one body of government working “for the people.” The fact that this vote was so bi-partisan (in an election year) and so overwhelming in numbers says a great deal about how the American people feel about the healthcare insurance industry.

We can rest assured that it will not pass the Senate.

The two biggest problems we face today in this country are the “do nothing” Senate and our media. One is useless, the other dangerous. Both are the pawns of big business and special interest.

As much as I against a lot of the opinions and attitudes of the tea party movement, and the likes of Glenn Beck. I am aligned with them on one very important point. That is I believe government and big business are not looking out for the best interests of you and I.

You know, Americans and Communists formed an alliance during WWII in order to accomplish our objective and rid ourselves of the Nazi’s and Facists attempts at taking over the world.

I would watch out Washington, both parties, as I am not the only moderate/independent that feels this way. I think the House gets it. But the Senate remains utterly clueless (both parties), and the more days that go by I am not so sure about the White House.

I still believe President Obama cares about “we the people”, but he is catering far too much to Wall Street and the special interests for my good.  And, his recent signing of a 1-year extension to the Patriot Act, which violates our constitutional rights is not sitting well with me and will not sit well until we GET RID OF IT!

It is time for the White House and the Senate (both parties) to get a clue.

Feb

25

More lies.

The Bush Tax cuts which were debt financed were passed by Dick Cheney casting the final 51st vote in the Senate using reconciliation.

The Bush Tax cuts represented 2.48 trillion dollars of unfunded debt from 2001 through 2010.  What may be in dispute are the numbers. If we go with the CBO’s more conservative numbers we are still at 1.8 trillion dollars. This is not a big thing?

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts (which are scheduled to expire in 2010) would cost the U.S. Treasury nearly $1.8 trillion in the following decade dramatically increasing federal deficits. This comes directly from their report titled “An Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2008″ that was released on March 2007. Here is a link to this report…

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/78xx/doc7878/03-21-PresidentsBudget.pdf (see page 6 of the document, pdf page 16). The line item on that page is titled “Subtotal, proposed extensions.”

Also, to see what you actually received for this tax cut see my blog entry Repealing the Bush Tax Cuts.

 

 

 

 

Feb

25

If you missed it, you missed a great hockey game. Strength, grace, and incredible athleticism. Rookie goalie Shannon Szabados played flawless in the goal for the Canadians. Eighteen year old skater Marie-Philip Poulin scored the games only two goals. Canadians 2 - US 0 in an remarkable game.

Congratulations to Canada on their win. Both teams left it all on the ice.

Feb

25

Representative Pelosi at the recent healtcare summit said the “Insurance companies have acted shamelessly.”

I disagree. The insurance companies have acted like a “for profit” business needs to act. There fiduciary duty is to their shareholders and it is to making a profit. A business makes money by cutting its bottom line.

Dropping people they are covering that have a higher probability for illness and disease is a smart business decision. Not wanting to cover people with pre-existing conditions is a good business decision. Covering the elderly that have a higher need for care is a good business decision. Without medicare how may people over 65 do you think the insurance companies would be covering.

No. Health insurance companies are acting the way they are supposed to act. This is a fact. You may not like it, I may not like it, but this does not change the reality of the situation.

Feb

24

It will be more of the same.

Republicans coming with no ideas. If you read what they have proposed they have not proposed anything substantative. It will be more of the same. They are really out of touch with what the mainstream populace wants.

I suppose I have to give credit for our President for playing this out. It is sad we only have two and a half branches of our geovernment trying to govern. Our nation is being held hostage by 40 Senators (jury is still out on Scott Brown).

Get to reconciliation and lets begin round one of healthcare reform.


Blogroll